dwiving home from wowk.

tonight's drive home from work was a teensy bit surreal. i feel i experienced nearly every weather pattern there is to be had on the pugetly shores of western washington. more significant than the variety of the weather, however, was the appearance of the weather- the very experience of it had me feeling like i was watching something oddly stuck in the middle between being a futuristic hi-def movie and one of tim's drawrings that frequently include clowns, hot dogs, balloons, and billy goats.

as i merged onto I5 south from 41st and broadway in everett (see, i'm really learning my way around here), i consciously noted how very yellow the atmosphere was. the entire sky above me, blanked in hazy clouds, was completely yellow, all different shades and textures, from the direction my car was pointed and to the right. to the left? oh, just black stormclouds. don't mind those. i realized this was today's attempt at a sunset, and as i finally broke free from the construction bottleneck on the freeway, i was really enjoying peering up at all this very lovely yellow-ness. i noted that i've never seen a completely yellow sunset- no reds, purples, blues.... just yellow, and it was beautiful. i didn't realize yellow could be so many different... yellows. i tried to focus on driving in the midst of a breathtaking yellow-set.

right when i was thinking how very warm all this yellow was, raindrops began splatting on my windshield. i wrinkled my brow- how does this happen?- while looping around and merging onto westbound 526 heading over to mukilteo and home. the raindrops continued, but so did the growing brilliancy of (let's just call it) the yellow.

from this new perspective and direction on the freeway i was watching black storm clouds converge with yellow in big, round, thunderhead-looking shapes. on the horizon ahead of me, above the strip of possession bay, these big whipped-up clouds formed what looked like a wall above the ocean, very tall and strong. at the very top of the length of this cloud wall, was an intense strip of light peeking over from the far side of it. it was like being shown that something amazing was on the other side of the wall, so amazing in fact, that the light and wonderfulness were eeking up the sides and beckoning me to make the million mile long journey up to those clouds, try and scale the wall, and join in on that party with God and his closest friends.

the wind and rain amidst the warm yellow-set continued...

it had been one of those days (let's be honest, one of those weeks and months) at work where my mood was less than cheery and optimistic. but i did decide, mind you, that my perspective on this showy display of color and clouds would have been too fluffy, and not as meaningful, had i been in a different mood. the sight of something warm and beautiful and artistic in the sky made me feel invited to God's party. i don't like to think that, had i been in a mood where everything was peaches and real whipping cream, i might have just been too human and passed off the yellow sunset and rainclouds as "oh, just very nice and pretty." because it was so much more than that.

i've been listening to misty edwards' album 'relentless' this week. i really like her song 'waste my life' and if you haven't heard it, you should listen to it, and think about this weather-scape i've tried to describe tonight... because the things i saw in the sky tonight and the atmosphere i noticed around me pointed to someone, the One, that i am happy to live for... someone the world considers a waste of my life, but whom i consider the only life-giver.

imagining that i was in a corny, rainbows and puppydog tails sort of mood tonight on my drive home, i hosted a make-believe question and answer period in the car with myself.

Q: ANNA, SUPPOSE YOU WERE TO GIVE A NAME TO THIS SUDDEN CLASH AND CLAMMER OF WEATHER SYSTEMS AROUND YOU... HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?

A: LIQUID DROPS OF SUNSHINE.